Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 37th Session of the Universal Periodic Review. Myanmar Introduction 1. SMILE Myanmar,1 The Seagull: Human Rights, Peace and Development,2 Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC),3 Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK),4 the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI)5 and The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI)6 make this submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the right to nationality and various human rights challenges related to statelessness in Myanmar. 2. This submission addresses one of the darkest periods in 21 st century history, during which crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide were committed against members of the stateless Rohingya minority community of Myanmar. The atrocity crimes peaked in 2017, and have been well documented.7 However, Myanmar continues to persecute the Rohingya, impose apartheid like conditions on the community, arbitrarily penalise Rohingya individuals and allow hate crimes to be committed against them, with impunity. 3. The co-submitting organisations are mindful that even as the Rohingya have been the targets of such deep-seated and systemic discrimination, violence and atrocities in Myanmar, the international community has repeatedly failed to protect the Rohingya, both in Myanmar and in exile. Consequently, the information in this UPR Submission, while focusing a spotlight on Myanmar, also captures in its penumbra, the cost of international inaction on one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. 1 SMILE Myanmar (www.smile-myanmar.com/) is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation working with diverse people from all levels of Myanmar society to promote freedom of religion and belief and to protect the dignity and rights of religious minorities. SMILE works in partnership with CBOs, NGOs, INGOs and a broad range of civil society actors. 2 The Seagull is an advocacy organisation based in Mandalay, Burma(Myanmar) working on Human Rights, Peace and Development. 3 Free Rohingya Coalition (www.freerohingyacoalition.org) is a global network of Rohingya activists and friends of Rohingyas who share common concerns about Myanmar’s on-going genocide and the need for Rohingya survivors to play an active role in seeking a viable future for their group. 4 The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) is based in London, United Kingdom, and was established in 2005 by diaspora Rohingya. The organisation works to highlight the plight of Rohingya internationally and to support the Rohingya community both inside Myanmar and in other countries. BROUK conducts research, monitors the human rights situation in Myanmar through an extensive network of contacts, highlights ongoing violations against Rohingya through international media and high-level meetings, and advocates for change. 5 Based at Queen Mary University of London's School of Law, The International State Crime Initiative (ISCI, www.statecrime.org) is an academic interdisciplinary forum for research, reportage, training and debate on state violence and corruption. ISCI has researched and reported on the Rohingya genocide since 2014. 6 ISI (www.institutesi.org) is an independent non-profit organisation committed to an integrated, human rights based response to the injustice of statelessness and exclusion through a combination of research, education, partnerships and advocacy. Established in August 2014, it is the first and only global centre committed to promoting the human rights of stateless persons and ending statelessness. The Institute has made over 65 country specific UPR submissions on the human rights of stateless persons, and also compiled summaries of the key human rights challenges related to statelessness in all countries under review under the 23rd to the 36th UPR Sessions. 7 See for example, the various reports and statements of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. Available here: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/MyanmarFFM/Pages/Index.aspx. 1